Josh Barnett hopes he can silence some critics with a potential return to the UFC.

The current Strikeforce fighter first has a bout with fellow heavyweight Nandor Guelmino (11-3-1 MMA, 0-0 SF) on Jan. 12 at “Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine,” but Barnett (31-6 MMA, 2-1 SF) clearly has his eyes on the UFC, where long ago he was a champion.

Strikeforce’s upcoming event is expected to be the organization’s final show, and that could open the door for fighters, including Barnett, to go to its sister promotion, the UFC. But UFC President Dana White is noncommittal on Barnett’s potential return to the organization, which would mark the fighter’s first time in octagon since 2002.

“Strikeforce is still – they’ve got a fight coming up, and that whole thing is going on,” White said. “So we’ll see what happens. When the smoke clears and the dust settles, we’ll see what happens with the whole thing.”

The UFC purchased Strikeforce in early 2011, but the two organizations never seemed to find the right setup to benefit both. Most fans favor a merger to get all the top talent under one roof, but White said uncertainty, including Strikeforce’s future with Showtime, has been par for the course since the purchase. It’s never been more so than recently.

So, he also was noncommittal on the futures of Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez and middleweight titleholder Luke Rockhold, who both were slated to fight at next month’s event before pulling out due to injuries.

“It’s so difficult – with this whole injury thing,” White told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “It’s funny because we’re going out of 2012 the same way we came in.”

Barnett, who’s seen past homes such as PRIDE and Affliction fold shop, simply hopes the latest chapter of his career ends on a positive note. After all, despite 15 years in the sport, he’s 8-1 in his past nine fights, and the lone defeat came to notable Daniel Cormier in the final of Strikeforce’s recently world heavyweight grand prix.

“Unfortunately, it’s really terrible because I’ve now set foot in so many different organizations that all up and folded shop,” Barnett recently told MMAjunkie.com. “It stinks. I hate being in that position. But I’m here to fight and to crush skulls and step over broken bodies. There’s always an opportunity for that, somewhere, someplace.

“In the UFC, I know there’s plenty of guys over there that would be happy if I never set foot in that octagon. But if it’s not there, I know there will be other places. There’s always people itching for a fight. That’s where I come in.”

Ronda Rousey’s statistical greatness has already ventured into uncharted territory – just six fights into her UFC career. Check out all the post-fight facts, including Rousey’s latest achievements, about UFC 190.